When you write great content or provide something that is valuable, people share this with others and tell them it is interesting. They might even write something about it or give their opinion or some other thoughts about it. Telling someone they should read some great content is the key activity and benefit. This is being an INFLUENCER…
When someone takes this discussion further, adds emotion, trust, and credibility to it, they are an ADVOCATE. The main difference is saying to their audience they should “trust” your content and you rather than just the content. This is a significant difference.
We need both…
Being an Influencer may be the start of an Advocate…but not necessarily. I am an influencer for many people because I enjoy some of their content and insights. But only when they have earned my trust do I go that step further and tell people this is someone you can count on…someone that will keep their promises…someone you should trust what they say and do. This is advocacy…this is gold!
Having an army of Influencers is great…it is something that everyone should aspire to attaining. People who enjoy your content (or product/services) is highly sought after and desirable. This goes well beyond just having customers who buy stuff. It is a great interim step to the ultimate prize…finding the potential Advocates who live amongst your Influencers.
And the best…neither Influencers nor Advocates have to be your customers! While it is great if they are, they don’t have to be. I advocate for many people and companies who I have never bought anything from…because they are such incredible people, have an awesome experience for their customers, and go above and beyond to help everyone. This is why they have earned my advocacy!
Having a company strategy to identify, cultivate, feed, and develop Advocates should be on the radar of every business owner and leader. For three primary reasons…
- They generate more revenue
- They lower your cost of sale
- They lower the company’s risk
First, they help you generate more revenue because they not only buy more from you but they tell all their friends/colleagues about you and that they should buy from you…this is revenue generating.
Second, they lower your cost of sale because they are helping your organization sell your product/services better than any sales person can because they are believed and trusted…unlike most sales personnel. Whether this is true or not, it is perceived by the majority of people.
Third, the overall company risk will decrease…mainly because they have a much more stable base of customers who are just satisfied. As I have said for the past 20 years, a “satisfied customer” is a high risk customer because “satisfied” simply means “they are happy at the moment…until the next best deal comes along and then they defect.” This represents incredible risk because a competitor can come in and offer a better price, delivery, terms, or a host of other things to pull them away.
Having a strategy to get more Influencers and turning them into Advocates should be on every leader’s agenda. Actually, let me clarify…having a strategy to create more Advocates from both customers and non-customers should be on every leader’s agenda. It is a clear path to greater differentiation, more word-of-mouth, and much more stability as a company.
